Santiago, Chile, October 1, 2004 - Favourites Brazil and Argentina were joined by Venezuela and Chile in the semifinals of the XVII South American Men's Volleyball Tournament after the latest matches on Friday.

Playing before their supporters, the Chilean national Junior team reached the semifinals by defeating Paraguay 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-21 ) in the final match of the fifth round in the Gimnasio Polideportivo de Ņuņoa.

With this result, the hosts finished second in Group A behind Brazil, who concluded their impeccable campaign with a 3-0 defeat of Peru (25-23, 25-14 , 25-12.)

The semifinals on Saturday will see Chile face Argentina, winners of Group B, who ended their qualifying round performance with a 3 -1 win over Colombia (25-16, 25-21, 25-27, 25-20), while Brazil plays Venezuela, who guaranteed their semifinal qualification with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-9 , 25-18) hammering of Uruguay.